The invention relates to a fire control system for a vehicle or vessel, which fire control system is provided with:
a turret and gun; PA1 a target tracking unit; PA1 a data processor connected to the target tracking unit for determining, in a first coordinate system coupled to the target tracking unit, angular (error) data about the position of the target being tracked; PA1 a servo control unit connected to the data processor for aligning the target tracking unit with the target position by means of the angular error data supplied; and PA1 a fire control computer for determining, from a series of successive positions of the target tracking unit and target range values, associated target positions in a second, fixed horizontal coordinate system, and for generating, from said target positions, gun aiming data for transmission to the turret and gun.
Such a fire control system for a vehicle or vessel is widely known.
With a combat vehicle fitted with a spring-suspended chassis on pneumatic tires and with the abovementioned fire control system, it is customary to stop the vehicle when entering the aiming phase of the gun and to give the vehicle a stable position by means of collapsible levelling jacks. This ensures that with a burst of fire the position of the combat vehicle will not be subject to change through the gun recoil. The use of these levelling jacks for such a vehicle could of course be dispensed with if only one single round need be fired. Furthermore, a heavy combat vehicle, such as a tank, need not be fitted with levelling jacks since, due to the large mass of the vehicle, the recoil of the gun when fired has no appreciable effect on the position of this vehicle. The adjustment of levelling jacks for a combat vehicle fitted with a spring-suspended chassis on pneumatic tires and with the above-mentioned fire control system is however time-consuming, and hence a disadvantage of such a combat vehicle.